Attitudes

Question 1

What are attitudes?

Answer 1

A value aimed at an attitude object.

Its what you think about something - an opinion.

Question 2

What’s an example of an attitude?

Answer 2

Football managers have very strong opinions about referees.

Question 3

What are attitude objects?

Answer 3

Places, situations and the behaviour of other people

Question 4

What’s an example of an attitude object and attitude?

Answer 4

A player dislikes training. The attitude object is the training and the player may adopt a negative attitude towards training.

Question 5

What factors influence experience and learning?

Answer 5

Peer groups
Conditioning
Socialisation/social learning
Familiarity

Question 6

How are attitudes formed?

Answer 6

By experience and learning.

By associating with others and picking up their opinions and values, a process called socialisation.

Question 7

How do peer groups influence experience and learning?

Answer 7

An acceptance of the groups attitudes towards an attitude object is a way of gaining membership of a group and gaining a sense of identity.

Question 8

How does socialisation influence experience and learning?

Answer 8

We learn a lot from significant others and they are powerful formers of attitudes, including negative ones that may lead to prejudice and stereotyping.

Question 9

How does familiarity influence experience and learning?

Answer 9

The more a person experiences an attitude object, the more likely a person is to develop a positive attitude towards it.

For example, the more often a child is taken to a sports club or to matches by their parents, the more likely the child is to develop a positive attitude towards that sport and to take it up themselves.

Question 10

How does conditioning influence experience and learning?

Answer 10

Rewards will strengthen existing attitudes.
A performer who is praised for training will have their attitude towards training strengthened, which in turn will strengthen the intention to train and therefore the likelihood of training.

Question 11

Where do we learn attitudes?

Answer 11

From significant others such as friends, parents and role models

Question 12

How are attitudes more likely to be learned?

Answer 12

If the behaviour we see in significant others is reinforced or repeated many times.
Attitudes can become conditioned by behaviour that is successful and reinforced.

Question 13

When can negative attitudes occur?

Answer 13

When there are negative role models who do not champion the value of sport.
When a bad experience such as an injury occurs
When there is no reinforcement offered by the coach to change behaviour.

Question 14

What is reinforcement?

Answer 14

A way a promoting correct actions according to the principles of operant conditioning

Question 15

What’s an example of developing a positive attitude?

Answer 15

Praise from a coach for your performance will develop a positive attitude to your sport and a positive response to your coach.

Question 16

What’s the Triadic model?

Answer 16

The three parts of an attitude

Question 17

What are the 3 parts of an attitude?

Answer 17

Cognitive part
Affective part
Behavioural part

Question 18

What is the cognitive component?

Answer 18

A belief, such as the belief in the ability to win.

Question 19

What is the affective component?

Answer 19

Relates to feelings and interpretations such as enjoyment.

Question 20

What is the behavioural component?

Answer 20

The actions of the performer

Question 21

What’s an example of the cognitive component?

Answer 21

Most sports performers believe in their ability to win the game or tournament before they compete.

Question 22

What’s an example of the affective component?

Answer 22

Player enjoys taking part in training and playing.

Or ‘it was hard work but I enjoyed it’

Question 23

What’s an example of the behavioural component?

Answer 23

A player who goes to training a couple of times a week and plays in matches at the weekend displays a good behavioural aspect to their attitude.

Question 24

What are the two ways of changing attitudes in sport?

Answer 24

Persuasive communication

Cognitive dissonance

Question 25

What is persuasive communication?

Answer 25

An active attempt to reinforce, modify or change the attitude of others

Question 26

What’s persuasion?

Answer 26

An effective communication to promote change

Question 27

What are the parts of persuasive communication?

Answer 27

The persuader
The receiver
The message

Question 28

What’s the persuader?

Answer 28

The person attempting the change (e.g. coach).

Question 29

What does the effectiveness of the persuader depend on?

Answer 29

Their status with who they are communicating with.
Their popularity amongst the group they’re communicating with.
Their credibility from past experiences of communication.
Their social and cultural background can affect their status and credibility if there is a wide difference.

Question 30

What is the receiver?

Answer 30

The person whose attitude the persuader is trying to change.

Question 31

What can influence the receiver?

Answer 31

If they’re ready for the message and can they understand it.
How strongly the current attitude is held - how persuadable is the receiver.
Are they motivated to change or open to the possibility.

Question 32

What is the message?

Answer 32

The quality of the message the persuader is giving.

Question 33

What can influence the messages effectiveness?

Answer 33

The accuracy of the message - is is correct
Is it stated with confidence and enthusiasm
The clarity of the message - well constructed and logical
Is the message factual, appealing to the receiver intellect

Question 34

What’s cognitive dissonance?

Answer 34

New information given to the performer to cause unease and motivate change.

Question 35

What does cognitive dissonance involve?

Answer 35

Using this method, the coach attempts to put pressure on one or more of the attitude components so that the performer becomes uneasy and is motivated to change their existing attitude.

Question 36

What does dissonance mean?

Answer 36

To create a conflict in thinking, that causes a lack of harmony and gives an uneasy feeling.

Question 37

What’s an example of cognitive dissonance?

Answer 37

A rugby player may believe that aerobics is too ‘girlie’ so the coach tells him that some of the fittest people do it to improve stamina.
This attack on the players beliefs causes a change in attitude and the player now does aerobics to keep fit.

Question 38

How can a coach use cognitive dissonance?

Answer 38

1 - The player may be given some new information or presented with a new form of activity so that they being to question their current attitudes and become motivated to change them.
2 - making the activity fun and varying practice
3 - using rewards as reinforcement
4 - use specialist equipment or role models

Question 39

What is 1 way of using cognitive dissonance?

Answer 39

The coach might point out the health benefits of a new form of exercise or training method which the player has shown a negative approach to and almost challenge the current thinking of that player.

E.g. the rugby player example

Question 40

What is the 2nd way of using cognitive dissonance?

Answer 40

It makes it more enjoyable.

If the activity is more fun than first thought, it may help to change your opinion.

Question 41

What is the 3rd way of using cognitive dissonance?

Answer 41

Using rewards as reinforcement may increase the turnout at training and at games if there is a prize for the player of the week.

Question 42

What is the 4th way of using cognitive dissonance?

Answer 42

The coach could bring in a specialist or role model player from another club to encourage participation.